Kelsie Kimberlin – Vlad
Release Date: 11th December 2023
Washington DC, USA-based artist Kelsie Kimberlin dropped her latest single, ‘Vlad’, last week. Whilst the track sits firmly in the punkier section of indie music there are tendrils stretching out into grungier areas with a smattering of rap in there too.
With strong references to many of the things that are wrong in the world, ‘Vlad’ takes aim at war, hatred and the atrocities that are happening across the world as well as specifically in Ukraine still. ‘Vlad’ is consistently catchy yet fierce with the opening pair of verses building up through lists of some of the worst things that humans are capable of before the choruses point finger firmly at those in charge.
Whilst the message behind the track is of massively seriousness and importance, the track does well to balance this with the bounciness of the beats.
You can help support Kelsie’s cause here: www.KelsieKimberlinFoundation.org
Social Links: Website | Facebook | Spotify | Instagram | YouTube
Emma Dilemma – Bed All Day
Release Date: 1st December 2023
Kiwi singer-songwriter Emma Dilemma takes aim at just how hard it can be to actually function as a human being these days. ‘Bed All Day’ is a semi-comical look at the trials and tribulations of adulting in 2023 as the urge to just bury yourself in your phone and pretend that life isn’t happening all around you.
In the combined style of iconic bands like Smash Mouth and The Beastie Boys, the combination of catchy bass and rapped vocals that just don’t take themselves all that seriously makes the track one that will stick in the head for a long time after listening. Lyrically smart, musically something you can’t help but get yourself moving to, Emma is carving a niche in the market where you both want to keep scrolling but also get up and move while doing it.
Social Links: Website | Facebook | Spotify | Instagram | TikTok
Abz Winter – Are You Good?
Release Date: 1st December 2023
When pop, punk and rock come together pretty consistently a match made in heaven. Combine that with a sense of loss and vulnerability with smart lyrics that will resonate with anyone that feels they’ve been betrayed and you have ‘Are You Good?’, the latest single from Midlands-based Abz Winter.
With vocals akin to P!nk leading the track through its three minute run time and musical stylings that would feel well at home on any Warped Tour spinoff, ‘Are You Good?’ feels like a summer anthem released in the wrong season. This is the sort of track you can feel yourself throwing yourself around to at festivals a few months’ time. The good thing about that I guess is that it gives you time to go and learn this and the rest of Abz’s back catalogue while you’re at it too!